Buffalo Sports Premier League Round 7 Review

BURLEIGH Heads have taken a one-point lead at the top of the Buffalo Sports Premier League, and still have a game in hand over their nearest rivals Musgrave, after a confident 3-0 triumph over Magic Utd.

Col Phelan’s team were put to the test early on by a determined Magic side but in the end had too much quality to fall victim to their gritty opponents.

Veteran Peter Grierson was both busy and tidy in the centre of the park for Burleigh Heads and the left-footed artistry of former Socceroo Con Boutsianis was eventually to prove the difference between the two teams.

Magic United were left to rue chances missed when they were dominant in the early stages, but can take heart from a battling performance that showed they are likely to be in amongst the finals shake-up.

Second-placed Musgrave bounced back to form with a comfortable 5-1 win over Mudgeeraba that left coach Marc Boelen questioning the commitment of some of his players. Boelen suggested sweeping changes will take place at the club this week in an attempt to get their season back on the rails. Mudgeeraba slid even further down the ladder by virtue of the demoralising result and appear to be in free-fall.

John Stewart’s Gold Coast Knights surprisingly dropped two points against a resilient Coomera with the match ending in a 1-1 stalemate thanks to a late penalty by Coomera’s Tony Martinez. Coomera are finding a first win hard to come by but are one of the toughest teams to overcome with their unbeaten run now stretching to four games. Goals win games though and only six conversions in six outings tell much of the story for Coomera.

The result is likely to be no more than a temporary blip for the Knights with few doubting them as one of the major title contenders. Strong, quick and potent, the Knights look the goods despite this draw.

Broadbeach Utd steamrollered past a hapless Surfers Paradise outfit with the ability to take their opportunities providing the main point of difference between the two sides in the first half. United led 3-0 at the interval and from there Surfers never looked like they even believed they could recover.

So it proved as Broadbeach took the opportunity to improve their goal difference thanks to some catastrophic defending by the home side. The defeat leaves Surfers Paradise rooted to the foot of the table with coach Keith Garland surely entitled to expect more from some of his troops.

One team who arrested their form slide was Nerang who provided perhaps the shock of round 7 with a 4-2 win over Palm Beach. It was a vital three points for Nerang who faced losing touch with the chasing pack had they lost this game.

Palm Beach were without coach Adem Poric who is overseas and the club will no doubt be on amber alert now after failing to record a victory in their last four Buffalo Sports Premier League outings.  

This coming weekend the Dog & Parrot FA Cup takes centre stage with the competition reaching the tense semi-final phase.

Friday night sees Gold Coast Knights take on Division One giantkillers Kingscliff at the Croatian Sports Centre and Knight’s coach John Stewart knows that this tie has potential ‘banana skin’ written all over it.

Kingscliff are yet to lose a game or even drop a point this term and will provide more than competitive opposition for the Knights.

On Saturday, a resurgent Broadbeach Utd host Palm Beach at Broadbeach Oval and Simon Kalaba’s men will be in no mood to show any mercy to their visitors as their season begins to take shape.

ROUND 7 RESULTS

Musgrave 5 v 1 Mudgeeraba

Nerang 4 v 2 Palm Beach

Surfers Paradise 1 v 6 Broadbeach Utd

Coomera 1 v 1 Gold Coast Knights

Magic Utd 0 v 3 Burleigh Heads

LADDER

Burleigh Heads 15, Musgrave 14, Gold Coast Knights 13, Magic Utd 12, Broadbeach Utd 10, Palm Beach 8, Nerang 7, Coomera 4, Mudgeeraba 4, Surfers Paradise 2.

PREMIER LEAGUE FORM GUIDE

Broadbeach Utd – W L D L * W W

Burleigh Heads – W W * L W W W

Coomera – L L D D * D D

Gold Coast Knights – L W * W W W D

Magic United – W L W W W L L

Mudgeeraba – L L * W L D L

Musgrave – W W D D W L W

Palm Beach – W W * D L D L

Nerang – L W D L L L W

Surfers Paradise – L L L D L D L

* Denotes postponed game